


ocean breeze

by elisela



Series: the trees of vermont [10]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Beach Day, Family Vacation, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25415329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elisela/pseuds/elisela
Summary: Buck narrows his eyes. “Did you know Chris has never been to the beach?”
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: the trees of vermont [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790356
Comments: 14
Kudos: 172





	ocean breeze

**Author's Note:**

> Fluffy fluff fluff to make up for all the trauma we put them through.

“What,” Eddie says faintly, “is all this?”

Buck looks around; he doesn’t see anything except their overnight bags, cooler, and the beach gear he and Chris had loaded into the truck. Three chairs, a big umbrella, a bag full of towels, the beach blankets he and Chris had picked out at the general store, three deflated swim rafts, a sandcastle building set, and a bag full of library books. He looks over at Eddie and frowns. “What’s all what?”

Eddie gestures at the bed of the truck. “Buck, we’re going to be gone for three days. We need a few towels, maybe this sandcastle kit.”

Buck narrows his eyes. “Did you know Chris has never been to the beach?”

“Yes,” Eddie says, raising an eyebrow, “I am his father, you know. Is there any way you’re going to let me pare this down?”

Buck ignores him, because really, Eddie ought to know by now. “Yo Chris!” he yells towards the open front door, “let’s get a move on! Your dad is already trying to ruin our fun!”

“I _should_ have ruined your fun,” Eddie grumbles, shifting the umbrella under his arms and reaching down to drag the cooler along behind him. “I didn’t realize _your_ fun was _my_ workout.”

“Stop complaining,” Buck says, rolling his eyes and tugging at the blanket he’d set on the sand. “It’s two things, Eds.”

The umbrella falls to the sand with a clatter, landing on the corner of one of the beach chairs and flipping it onto its side. “Two things, three chairs before that, six more bags to lug out of the truck—”

“Oh, now you’re just exaggerating—”

“—fifteen tubes of sunscreen, and apparently there’s no water at the beach because I’m pretty sure you bought out the supermarket back home. You do realize there are stores here, don’t you?”

“Eddie,” Buck sighs, dropping the bag of books onto the corner of the blanket and turning towards him, “what’s actually wrong here?”

Eddie blinks at him. “Nothing?”

“You were excited for this trip last night,” Buck says, reaching out for Eddie’s wrist and pulling him closer. He wraps his arms around Eddie’s waist, resting his chin on his bare shoulder, skin still chilled from the air conditioning they’d had blasting in the car on the three hour drive to the beach. “What changed?”

Eddie pulls back and looks at him for a long moment before releasing a breath and leaning back in. “I found the box,” he says, sounding like he’s making an admission.

“Okay?” Buck drags out the word, squeezes Eddie close and lets go of him with a kiss to the cheek. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The ring box,” Eddie clarifies. His cheeks turn pink as he looks down at the ground, kicking at the sand a little. “The one you put in the closet. I found it while I was grabbing the hoodie you asked for.”

“I didn’t put a ring box in the closet,” Buck says slowly. 

Eddie sighs and takes a step back before bending down and fishing a black velvet box out of the side pocket of his beach bag. “This, Buck,” he says, handing it over.

“I have so many things to ask you right now,” Buck says, “but Eddie, I swear, this isn’t mine.”

Eddie frowns at him. “Well, it’s not mine?”

He rubs his thumb against the velvet and after a second, flips it open, and laughs. “Eds, it’s empty.” He looks up in time to see the flush grow to a deeper red on Eddie’s cheeks. “You didn’t know that?”

“I didn’t want to violate your privacy,” Eddie says, and Buck can’t help but laugh.

“So you found a ring box, figured it was mine and brought it along because you thought I was going to propose and forgot it, but you didn’t want to actually open it?” He drops the box onto the sand and reaches out, pulling Eddie into another hug, burying his face in Eddie’s neck. He smells like coconut suntan oil, and Buck can’t help but breathe it in and nuzzle his nose against Eddie’s skin. Months ago, Buck thinks he might have had a panic attack at the thought that Eddie was freaked out about marriage; now, he’s happy to realize that he’s secure enough in their relationship to know it’s probably not about him at all. “It might not be mine,” he says slowly, pressing a kiss to the place where rough stubble meets soft skin, “but I do want to marry you one day, you know.”

“One day would be good,” Eddie says after a moment. “I’m just not sure I’m ready now.”

“Why don’t you tell me when you are,” Buck suggests, kissing a path up his jaw and over to his cheek. “And we don’t worry about it until then?”

Eddie nods, clearly relieved, and turns his head to kiss him gently. “You’re not—” he stops, bites his bottom lip. 

“I’m not,” Buck assures him. “You need a minute? Chris is on his way back and he’s going to want to get straight into the water. He tried to go in his clothes, he wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t let him.”

“I’m good,” Eddie says, “except there are still about thirty-seven bags in the car—”

“That many? How much did you pack?” Buck teases, bending down to grab the umbrella. “Go grab your kid and throw him into the ocean, I’ll finish this up.”

“You’re the best,” Eddie says, settling a hand on Buck’s hip for just a moment before letting go to pull his shirt over his head, kick his sandals off, and jog to where Chris is coming out of the changing stall. Buck watches as he picks him up in a fireman’s carry, Christopher’s shrieks of laughter floating over to him as Eddie turns towards the water. The crutches get dropped on the shoreline before they wade in, and both of them turn to wave at him before they push out past their knees.

He looks around at the mess he’s made in the sand, finishes setting the umbrella up, and goes to join his family.

**Author's Note:**

> gimme vermont prompts @ [hearteyesforbuck](http://hearteyesforbuck.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
